Over the course of the fourth of july weekend I went to two different Fireworks displays. One display on July 3rd, and one on the fourth.

The first display was out in South Haven on the beach. The launched the Fireworks off of the large pier. Quite a nice setup actually. Prior to the showI showed up around 2 hours early to the town, and already the whole town was jammed up with traffic. I ended up parking about a mile away from the beach and hoofing it the whole was with a bunch of other people doing the same. When I got to the beach I plopped down among the dune grasses and started people watching. there were of course lots of people to watch. the crowd was made up of mostly young peoples and families. Among them were groups of attractive people ( I watch the women) where the people normally hide I may never know. Unfortunately, also among the crowd were those people that make you question the state of humanity and the world as we know it. this is a conversation in and of itself so I will save it for a later post. Also included into the mix were glow stick hawkers there to ruin the mood. Overall the hours before the show were entertaining for what is was worth.

During the showThe quality of the fireworks display should be obvious given the crowd that showed up to view it. there were fireworks going off constantly off the peir overlooking the water. (which was filled with boats also watching the show). Unfortunately, do to the size and makeup of the crowd, all throughout the show groups of people all around me talking loudly about whatever. There were other groups of people making fun of the people mentioned prior (why were they even there? ). Also highly prevalent were people taking video and snapping pictures with their cell phones of the fireworks. Each and every one of them had their flashes on, backlighting the whole area with flashlight like flashes. I respect the people bringing a quality video/photo setup. I respect the art. but nobody wants to view your cell phone shots of fireworks. About 2/3 of the way through people started filing their way past me heading towards the street- obviously in an attempt to beat traffic.

After the ShowI walked back to my car with the rest of the masses following the pin I dropped on my phones mapping feature. I never would have found my car otherwise. There was of course a huge wall of cars so I decided to screw it and do a little looking around at a gas station near by . Everybody likes sniffing the incense sticks right? Afterwards I crawled into the back of my car and waited for the cars to pass. I awoke around 1-2 am and drove an hour back home without incident.

Was the experience worth it? Yes. Will I ever do it again? Nope.

The 4th.Based on my experiences the night before and the morning of the 4th, I decided against driving across the state to a gigantic fireworks display. It was an excellent choice!

Before the showThe fireworks show was a local one, and not that of a big city. I drove less than four miles away. Of course the school parking lot in which everyone was parking was full, so I parked a few blocks away in a rather empty parking lot. When I got to field everyone was parking their butts, I picked a location in the back by the fence- no one behind me, and an empty field beyond the fence. The crowd this time was very different. It was mostly families and old people. there were a few couples of course but far fewer than the beach. In the time before the show I just sprawled out on the grass and watched the kids run in circles with a soccer ball.

During the ShowBy the time it got dark I had about 30 feet between me and a polish (or dutch?) family. The fireworks themselves were actually many of the same fireworks that I saw at the beach the day before. This time however, the fireworks were closer to me, and they were launched at a rate that usually allowed the entire firework time to at least spread out before being swallowed up by another. I actually like this a lot, as I get to view each one. they are all different, so why them cram them so close together at larger shows? another thing I liked about the smaller show is I heard all the fizzles, buzzes and crackles of each firework instead of all the conversations going on around me. Sound is a big part of the experience!

After the ShowShortly after the main show ended, traffic started to fill the roadway Fortunately for me, I was able to just look all around me at all the other firework shows that were going on farther away. By the time all the other shows were stopping the entire roadway was clear. I just walked the two blocked back to my car and was back in my apartment in no time.

Similarities

Glowsticks- everyone loves glowsticks! there were no glow stick hawkers at the smaller event but most kids were waving them around just the same. I don't blame them either. I loved playing with them as a kid and likely still would if I got my hands on one.

sparklers- These little finger-burners are a 4th of July staple! While small and not that exciting, I'm pretty sure every one gets a kick out of them.

Hot air balloon Paper lanterns- Paper lanterns are pretty popular in oriental cultures. Paper lanterns festivals are present in multiple cultures. I was actually surprised when I started seeing people launch these into the sky here in Michigan. While the sky wasn't filled with them, just seeing a few of these being sent up was pretty freakin' cool! I'm pretty sure I could see a few of them over a mile away.

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This blog is my attempt at chronicling and organizing various parts of my life. You may even learn a bit if you read it. Then again you may not. I write this blog to exercise my creativity, teach a reader a trick or two, and to help myself and possibly others get a little bit more out of life. Who knows, I may even "find myself" along the way.

As I write, I will begin categorizing and organizing my posts. Until then, get used to it....